Daily Telegraph Cryptic No 30815
A full review by crypticsue
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This puzzle was published on 4th January 2025
BD Rating – Difficulty ** – Enjoyment ***
NY Doorknob set us a Prize Puzzle that was solver-friendly, apart from the multi-word anagram starting at the top of the grid
Please let us know what you thought
Across
1a, 9a, 26d, 27a In Stuttgart, French historian mistaken? So said 16! (5,2,8,4,7)
TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION – Ignoring the first clue, I filled in the rest of the grid in very short order and went back to the start . Then, realising that I needed something said by 16a, I looked in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations to remind myself of his various words of wisdom, put the correct one into the grid and then checked that this could be an anagram (mistaken) of IN STUTTGART FRENCH HISTORIAN. Online solvers were not helped either by the order being written 1a, 26d, 27a and 9a. Fortunately for me, it was correct in the newspaper version.
9a See 1 Across
10a Legislation backing cuts causes strikes (7)
WALLOPS – A reversal (backing) of LAW (legislation) followed by LOPS (cuts)
11a Leader done with small number in Greece (8)
GOVERNOR – OVER (done) with NO (small, abbreviated, number) inserted in the IVR Code for Greece
12a Second-rate villain’s Irish accent (6)
BROGUE – B (second-rate) ROGUE (villain)
13a Stormy weather set for ducks? (10)
SWEETHEART – An anagram (stormy) of WEATHER SET – ducks being an informal word for the solution
15a Commander horrified – good person lost (4)
AGHA – An alternative spelling for a Turkish commander – AGHAst (horrified) without (lost) the ST (saint, good person)
16a Remember a couple? He brought us Jim and Huck (4,5)
MARK TWAIN – MARK (remember, note) TWAIN (a couple)
21a Last word of a prayer correct? Not wholly (4)
AMEN – Almost all (not wholly) of AMENd (correct)
22a British terribly jealous importing excellent wine (10)
BEAUJOLAIS – B (British) and an anagram (terribly) of JEALOUS ‘importing’ AI (excellent)
24a Sun’s glowing coverage for The Crown? (6)
CORONA – Part of the sun or a crown
25a Help to bind NT with OT and Clootie’s last remedy? (8)
ANTIDOTE – AID (help) to ‘bind’ NT, with OT and the last letter of clootiE
27a See 1 Across
28a Better than expected? Not at Carnoustie! (5,3)
ABOVE PAR – Better than expected unless you were playing a round of golf at Carnoustie!
29a Telephone informers about potential lead (7)
STARLET – A reversal (about) of TEL (telephone) RATS (informers)
Down
2d M-madness? (4,4)
ROAD RAGE Madness on a major ROAD such as a Motorway (M)
3d Mrs Simpson allowed to return message (8)
TELEGRAM – A reversal (to return) of MARGE (Mrs Homer Simpson) and LET (allowed)
4d As a showman, one eccentric is Mr Opera (10)
IMPRESARIO – The Roman numeral for one and an anagram (eccentric) of IS MR OPERA
5d Excessive love for German king (4)
OTTO – OTT (over the top, excessive) O (love)
6d Dicky hated penning line in Hebrew letter (6)
DALETH – An anagram (dicky) of HATED ‘penning’ L (line)
7d African wrapped in rug and anorak (7)
UGANDAN – A clue you need to read carefully to realise the African is hidden (wrapped) in rUG AND ANorak
8d Maintaining correspondence for a sailor capsized? (3,4)
PRO RATA – PRO (for) and a reversal (capsized) of A TAR (a sailor)
11d Important Viking – giant among best friends? (5,4)
GREAT DANE – A very large dog (giant among best friends) is a GREAT (important) DANE (Viking)
14d Copy crazy strip cartoon where ducks make escape? (10)
TRANSCRIPT – An anagram (crazy) of STRIP CARTooN without the OOs (ducks make escape)
17d Whose part in drama is telling? (8)
NARRATOR – A cryptic definition of someone who tells the story in a drama
18d Lofty sort employed to train runners? (8)
BEANPOLE – An informal very tall thin person (lofty sort) or something used to train runner beans
19d An incompetent player embracing supporter in Lincoln? (7)
ABRAHAM – A HAM (an incompetent player) ‘embracing’ BRA (supporter)
20d Conflict nevertheless good for tusked creature (7)
WARTHOG – WAR (conflict) THO (poetical word meaning nevertheless) G (good)
23d Jack one dispensing milk shake (6)
JUDDER – J (Jack in a pack of playing cards) UDDER (one dispensing milk)
26d See 1 Across
Thanks for this Sue.
Doing these full reviews for the Saturday crossies is so admirable of you; it really is.
It must be like laying up a buffet on the Marie Celeste.
Respect.
Regarding 28a, I am curious to know if NYPD Blue is a golfer – and a Scottish one at that – as he has chosen a brute of a course that is known as ‘The Beast’ or ‘Carnasty’.
I’d love to play it, even though I’m a hacker, as I’ve heard it’s a glorious walk spoiled.
I love that ‘below par’ has opposing meanings depending if you are walking over the dunes or not.
Scotland and Ireland are truly spoilt for courses.
I take it that you don’t swing a stick in anger?
I’ve been providing full reviews since the summer of 2010 so it is now just part of my Saturday morning routine every other week
My granny, who was a very good golfer, always said that I would be a good golfer, but the nearest I ever got was carrying her clubs round the course at Old Coulsdon when I was a junior school child
Croydon? No wonder the sport didn’t grab you.
I’m sure it’s a nice bit of greenery but I can’t see it appearing in The UK’s list of golf courses to play before one retires to the 19th in the sky.
Saying that, one of the first courses I played was a nine hole par 3 jobbie at Morden swimming baths, a 3 wood from Coulsdon (with a fair wind) as I was raised in Raynes Park.
Not exactly St Andrew’s, I admit, but I soon discovered Royal Wimbledon and Coombe Hill which are two of London’s finest.
In those days Croydon and Coulsdon were nothing to do with London and much nicer than they are now
I can imagine.
When I mentioned London’s finest, I wasn’t including Croydon and Coulsdon.
I lived on a road called Grand Drive, when I was a nipper, that started in Raynes Park with a London postcode SW20 and ended in Morden, with a Surrey postcode SM4.
So, I’ve always been aware of where the border is. In fact, I know the house where it changes.
Oh, shut-up, Tom. You’re beginning to sound like Alan Partridge.
Sadly the edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations we have in print does not include the one for this puzzle.
Confusingly some internet sources ascribe the quotation to Lord Byron another (4,5) candidate
Welcome to the blog
Like CrypticSue, I initially ignored 1a,etc. Unlike CrypticSue, by the time I came back to it I failed to notice (or remember) the ‘16’ at the end, so I just filled it in from the checking letters and wondered how “So said” could define it. D’oh. Anyway, I didn’t know that 16 said it, so I’ve learnt something, which is always a bonus.
Please can everybody who had a comment redacted on Saturday repeat it here, so the rest of us can be demystified as to what you were saying? Thank you.